The present invention relates to the field of shock absorbing mechanisms associated with footwear.
Walking and running expose an individual""s feet and body to repeated shocks from impact which may result in injury or discomfort to the individual. For example, individuals in the workplace that need to walk or work on flat hard surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, hard floors, tile, wood, or shallow carpet for extended periods of time particularly need footwear with strong shock absorption features. Hospital, office, restaurant, manufacturing, and garage workers, and senior citizens, may fit this group of individuals having a particular need for shock absorbing footwear. As a result, various designs for shock absorbing footwear have emerged over the years, including soles made of various impact-absorbing materials. In addition, some shoes have utilized springs within the shoe soles, likewise designed to perform shock absorbing functions.
One disadvantage that exists in the above prior art footwear is that the shock absorbing features of the footwear are generally not adjustable to customize the shock absorption to the particular, varying needs or desires of the individual user. For example, with typical prior art shoes, a user does not have the option of increasing or lowering the amount of shock absorption to accommodate changing from soft to hard walking surfaces, or vice versa. In addition, with typical prior art shoes, a user does not have the option of adjusting the amount or distribution of shock absorption as applied to different parts of the user""s feet, such as increasing the amount of shock absorption in the heel area when needed, as an example.
Another disadvantage that exists in the prior art is that there is generally no inexpensive or easy way to replace or renew the shock absorption features in prior art footwear once the shock absorption performance of the shoe begins to decline over time and extended use. For example, prior art shoes with declined shock absorption performance would generally need to be resoled or completely replaced in order to regain full performance, and the user would have no convenient or less wasteful option of simply replacing or changing the worn shock absorbing springs or other mechanisms alone by hand.
A third disadvantage that exists in the prior art is that footwear with higher shock absorption qualities will generally require thicker shoe soles, which may be undesirable to the user.
A fourth disadvantage that exists in the prior art is that a single piece of footwear is not easily converted for different uses, such as converting between a comfortable walking shoe with high shock absorption qualities to a more responsive athletic shoe with cleats for better responsiveness and traction in return for the decrease in shock absorption value. Users instead typically buy multiple pairs of shoes for use in such different situations, which may be disadvantageous and wasteful in terms of time or money for the user.
The present invention provides cleat-like shock absorbers for footwear that meet one or more of the existing needs in the prior art, as set forth above.